Books

We share our Australian home with an amazing variety of native animals - but some of them are in danger of disappearing forever! What would it be like if we were the only ones left?

Learn more about each of these threatened species in the back of the book.

Beautuiful and unique childrens book. 

• Good introduction to non-fiction text for young children
• Suitable for lower and middle primary
• Visually stunning

Austraia, since European settlement, has lost more mammals to extinction than any other country and many of our animals and plants are listed as threatened with extinction. This book depicts only a small proportion of these but each has their own story. 

About the Author

Sandra Kendell is an artist and author who lives in Darwin with her family. She hopes her children will enjoy a future rich in native species.

Night-time falls and the possum orchestra begins.
Drums bang, violins scratch and I can’t sleep!
Children will love to join in in this noisy celebration of possums and their night time antics.

Speech Pathology Shortlisted Book of the Year 2020

About the Author
Catherine Meatheringham spends her days writing picture books and drinking way too many cups of tea. She loves writing books that are full of music and noise to encourage children to join in with the story.
Catherine lives in Canberra with her husband, two children, dog, and a noisy possum that keeps her awake at night.

About the Illustrator
When Max Hamilton started kindergarten the teacher asked the children to draw a picture of what they wanted to be when they grew up. While the rest of the class drew Firemen, Teachers and Doctors Max drew a picture of her drawing a picture. Many years later, Max now works primarily as a Children’s Book Illustrator and can be found painting away in her Sydney studio.

About the Author & Illustrator

Angie Lionetto-Civa lives in Perth. She shares her life with her husband, their two children, her singing bird Jack, her dancing bird Oscar, her territorial cat Licorice, her adopted cat Whisky, and her three chooks! Her passion is teaching children, writing books, reading autobiographies, catching up with her friends, and walking. 

Illustrator Christina Booth works from her home-based studio surrounded by her garden, family, and pets. She is inspired by the natural environment and even though she lives a long way from the desert, loves that it just takes a book, a pencil, and her imagination to transport her there. 

Angie and Christina have collaborated on two previous books, In the Deep Green Jungle and In the Deep blue Sea, both of which were notable books in the CBC Book of the Year Awards.

Jane Elwell's wonderful creation takes you into the exciting world of the Australian Rainforest, home of the Pod Babies.

Once in a Blue Moon, so the story goes, something magical happens.

When the rays of the Blue Moon fall on a beautiful butterfly she slowly comes to life and soars up into the forest canopy leaving behind a trail of shimmering blue dust. When this dust settles on the pods of trees, new life begins to stir. The seed pods glow a vivid blue. Then with a POP! they open and Pod Babies are born . . .

The story is told in Jane Elwell's 32-page high-quality book, vividly illustrated in full colour throughout. And, there's a CD of Jane narrating the story accompanied by the sounds of the rainforest.

Animals make their homes in all parts of Australia. They live in trees, on the sands of deserts and beaches, deep underwater in oceans and lakes, and on top of high mountains. The place where an animal lives is called its habitat. In this book, we meet some of the animals that live in the grasslands and coral reefs. Features fact files, and 8 reusable sticker sheets.

Match the animals on the sticker pages to their places in the grassland scenes by looking carefully at their names and shapes.

Big reusable stickers - perfect for little hands!
Peel the animals off and reuse them again and again.

Develops hand-eye coordination, picture recognition and creative scene-making

Interest age: from 5 years

ISBN: 9781742458229

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Founded in 1987 by Dick Smith, the Australian Geographic Society is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting scientific research, protecting, and fostering a love for our environmental and natural heritage, encouraging the spirit of discovery and spreading the knowledge of Australia to Australians and the world. 

This unique A-Z book truly captures the range and diversity of our unique and wondrous Australian wildlife. Exploring common names, aboriginal names, Latin names and from every corner of Australia, the book includes over 400 native animals, from sea creatures and insects to amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. The book highlights the endangered, sometimes the extinct, and the rare beauty of Australia and its islands and territories. Fully indexed, this book invites and engages kids (and kid-adults) of all ages to find, discover and learn all the animal names and compare their different types. Originally assisted by leading biologists, author Myke has ensured the illustrations are anatomically correct as well as vibrant and enchanting. As a bonus, you can find one human in the book doing what Myke loves best as a recreational pursuit.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Myke Mollard is a children’s educator, illustrator, author, and designer – just some of his creative talents. He began his career in graphic design, branding management, and producing commercials for TV. He later found outlets for his passion for educating kids about the world around them, both in-person in the classroom and online settings, and via his books which he fully writes and illustrates himself. One of his first books, in 2008, was the best-selling A-Z of Australian Bush Creatures which sold 85,000 copies in the early 2010s. He is also the author of On a Monsters Doorstep which completely sold out its 10,000-copy hardback run.

ISBN: 9781925868685
Hardback
48 pages
Interest age: from 3 years

Australia is full of amazing wild species and with the All Australian Alphabet Book, it will teach children and children at heart some of them.
How many Australian birds, animals, and invertebrates can you see? Can you find the creatures in the verse? This all Aussie alphabet adventure is both fun to learn and amazing to explore!

Written by Leanne White. Illustrated by Toni Hough.

230 x 295mm softcover

ISBN: 978-0-9871597-6-2

The Bushwalk takes the reader on an adventure of discovery through the Australian bush and discovers native Australian flora and fauna along the way.

Ages: Primary School ages

From the Author

The Bushwalk is a story I hope will encourage children to explore whatever natural environment may be accessible to them, a reserve, a park or their own backyard. 
The animals featured are common across a wide range of habitats in Australia. 

Discover some of the most popular Australian native flora and fauna in this delightful counting book.

AGES: 2 plus

About the Author and Illustrator

Kids won’t be able to resist the colourful animals in this giant fold-out flap book. Young imaginations are stimulated as children are asked to name the ocean animals. When children know the answer, they fold out the extra-large flaps to reveal the animal in its natural habitat.

Each scene also has a basic learning activity, making this book both educational and fun!

Which family does our famous Galah belong to? Who turned the humble backyard clothes line into the famous Hills Hoist? Australia’s most classic cake book is here! Learn all about Australia’s best-loved icons and animals – and then eat them!

With more than 50 Australian-inspired baking and decorating ideas, these cakes are perfect for kid’s parties and grown-up celebrations. All cakes featured in the book are cheap to make and easy to assemble. Each recipe includes a bit of background information about the icon – its history, culture and relevance today. With clear, easy-to-follow instructions and helpful tips, Aussie Cakes is an essential classic for every household.

Get ready for an extraordinary voyage - plunge into the depths with top predators, swim with sharks and learn all about life on coral reefs. Packed with fascinating facts and information, stunning hi-definition 3D spreads and a fold-out 3D panorama poster, this book makes learning all about sea animals a uniquely exciting and memorable experience.

What better way to send your child off to sleep than bedtime songs with Australian animals. Join classic lullabies in one of the worlds best loved traditions.
0-8 years
Hardcover Book.
Publisher Bandicoot Books
Authors Steve and Marion Isham

ISBN 9780987384010

Platypus General Information

The Platypus is a unique and an Australian native. Platypus are monotremes which means egg-laying mammal. Monotremes have only 2 species in this group – the other is the Echidna.

The Platypus when first discovered was thought to be a fake due to the different species that could be associated with it – the bill of a duck, the webbed feet of an otter, the tail of a beaver. It caused quite a bit of confusion!

Platypuses spend most of their time in the water or in their burrow. They are found only in freshwater rivers or lakes. They create burrows for shelter and protection. They are mainly active late in the day and during the nights. The main threats to a Platypus are goannas, rats, snakes and foxes as well as man – through pollution and land clearing.

To watch a Platypus you must be very quiet and very patient – the slightest noise and they’re gone!